This invention relates to a pick and place unit which picks up an article at a first predetermined position and transports it to a second predetermined position. Heretofore, one driving device for vertical movement and the other driving device for horizontal movement have been separately used for a pick and place unit, which is adapted to insert an article having been supplied at a predetermined position into a jig or the like waiting ready for at a predetermined position apart from the original position of the article by moving the article along a path of an inverted letter `U`. In the case of using two driving devices including one driving device for vertical movement and the other for horizontal movement as described above, a sequence control system has been adopted for securing the two driving devices to operate in good order. For this, the pick and place unit has been enlarged in size and complicated in construction. Additionally, with such a pick and place unit, the time required for a cycle of motion is long, and a high speed motion cannot be effected. Further, such a disadvantage has been presented that the provision of a sequence control system resulted in a costly unit.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pick and place unit capable of transporting an article along a path of an inverted letter U in good order by use of a single driving device and a simplified mechanism driven by said device without using a special control system and a plurality of driving devices.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in consideration of the ensuing description and the accompanying drawings.